TruTravels announces first ‘fun fitness tours’ departures

Youth specialist TruTravels has revealed details of the first departures of its new fun fitness tours.

The FitVentures breaks for travellers aged 18 to 30-plus were first announced as one of the operator’s new travel styles last year but did not operate due to the pandemic.

The group tours will operate for the first time from May of this year, with savings of up to 40% as part of the operator’s Great Escape Sale.

Trips, in Indonesia and Thailand, focus on health, wellbeing, fun and adventure.

They include Muay Thai classes, beachfront bootcamps and volcano hikes as well as bike rides, paddle boarding, spa days and healthy cooking classes.

TruTravels aims to challenge the traditional wellness retreat by making working out a fun and sociable experience, mixed in with one-off experiences. It said the trips favoured an “all-round wellness approach” rather than including strict workouts and diet regimes.

Co-founder Mark Pope said youth travel is conventionally viewed as party-focused. The FitVentures breaks, introduced last year, aim to offer a more balanced experience, mixing fun with staying active and healthy, he said.

He said: “In 2020, we saw a huge rise in home workouts and people getting active – a trend which has continued through 2021 as people keep up healthy new habits.

“With the misconception that youth travel is purely party holidays, we decided to harness these new trends and develop a collection of tours that bring together the best of adventure travel and all-round wellbeing, while still appealing to the younger traveller.

“Tapping into local fitness styles such as Muay Thai, and exploring in a more active way such as longer bike rides, travellers will get to experience a destination in a new way, with the added benefit of travelling around rather than staying in one place like you would on many traditional wellness retreats.”

Trips include a nine-day Thailand Energize from £591, down from £985, excluding flights. It includes morning Muay Thai classes, bike rides around Koh Phangan, high intensity beach fitness classes, hikes, paddleboarding, Thai massage and temple visits.

The eight-day Bali Energize costs from £561, down from £935, and includes bike rides, hiking volcanoes, beach boot camps, and boxing masterclasses.

All small group trips are led by a guide, who also acts as a ‘social director’ to make sure holidaymakers have fun travelling together.